WO2001084407A1 - Environment information simulation system, device, and method, and recorded medium - Google Patents

Abstract

A system comprising a database where environment information on parts is registered in advance, searching means for searching the database with respect to parts constituting a product, environment information evaluating means for calculating the evaluation value of the environment information on the parts of the product by using the environment information if it is found by the search that the environment information on the parts is registered in the database or by averaging the environment information on parts of the same type or the same materials as that or those of the parts searched for and registered in the database if the environment information is not registered in the database, and environment information evaluation result means for outputting the results of the calculated evaluation of the environment information on the product.

Description

 TECHNICAL FIELD Environmental information simulation system, apparatus and method, and recording medium

 The present invention relates to a technology for evaluating the environment of a product, and in particular, evaluates environmental information on the amount of use of a predetermined chemical substance contained in a product at a product sub-layer (provider) that provides equipment, products, and the like. The present invention relates to a system, a method, a recording medium, and a program for outputting a program. Background art

 Recently, product suppliers (product suppliers) are required to take the following measures, for example, to set eco-efficiency targets for products in the Eco Action Plan. Each item in parentheses is a specific example.

 • Global warming prevention measures (low power consumption, LCA),

 • Resource recycling (recycling, expanded use of recycled plastic),

 -Green (reduction of lead solder and vinyl chloride).

 Of these, “LCA” (life 'cycle' assessment) refers to grasping and managing the amount of C02, which causes global warming, throughout the life cycle from product manufacturing to disposal.

 In addition, many customers who purchase products from product suppliers are promoting product procurement that considers the impact on the environment, and have established product procurement guidelines, etc. In response, some customers have requested to submit data on environmental indicators for the product in the evening.

 As a product supplier's approach to product procurement guidelines,

• Unification and selection of component materials,

 -Control of harmful substance use and management of harmful substance content,

 Display of material name,

• Energy saving, Necessary environmental measures are taken.

 As mentioned above, recently, equipment product suppliers are also required to enhance environmental measures.

 Meanwhile, while information management of environmental information is relatively advanced in the mass sales industry such as personal computers and mobile phones, information management of environmental information is not necessarily progressing well in the small-lot, high-mix equipment industry. That is the actual situation.

 The reason is that in the industry of high-mix low-volume production, an enormous number of parts are used, and collecting environmental risk information for all parts requires enormous man-hours. This is because the situation is virtually impossible. Disclosure of the invention

 Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a system and an apparatus which can evaluate environmental information in a product with high accuracy even when collection of environmental information is insufficient. And a recording medium.

 It is another object of the present invention to provide a system, an apparatus, a method, and a recording medium that enable evaluation data of environmental information of a product to be obtained in advance during trial production of the product. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system, an apparatus, a method, and a recording medium that can provide environmental information corresponding to a customer's management policy in providing environmental information of a delivered product to the customer.

 Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system and an apparatus, a method, a recording medium, and a program for supporting green design in a product supplier.

 It is still another object of the present invention to provide a system, an apparatus, a method, and a recording medium that facilitate construction of a database for storing environmental information, facilitate introduction of a system, and reduce TOC.

 Other objects, features, advantages, and the like of the present invention will be immediately apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the embodiments and the like.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a database in which environmental information of parts is registered in advance, a means for searching the database for parts constituting a product, and a result of the search, When the environmental information of the part is registered in the database If the environmental information is used and the environmental information of the part is not registered in the database, the environmental information of the part of the same type or the same material as the part registered in the database is averaged. Means for calculating an evaluation value of environmental information of the component; and means for outputting an evaluation value of environmental information calculated for the product.

 The above object is achieved in the same manner by the present invention in each claim of the present application, as will be apparent from the following description.

 Furthermore, it is difficult to avoid increasing product costs when using environmentally friendly parts. For this reason, the system that calculates the evaluation value of environmental information described above is linked to a parts information system that stores price information on parts, and the optimal parts are selected from the environmental and cost aspects, and simulations are performed at the unit and product levels. Carry out Chillon 1. By repeatedly performing this simulation, it is possible to design products that are environmentally friendly and can reduce costs. Brief description of the drawings ''

 FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an actual application example of the system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a system configuration of one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between databases in one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the feature (1) of the database in one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the feature (2) of the database in one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the feature (3) of the database in one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the feature (4) of the database in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates the features (5) and (6) of the database in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

 FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the feature (7) of the database in one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a feature (8) of the database in one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the features of the simulation in one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a product name code total list that is a simulation result of one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a harmful substance count list as a simulation result of one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of an LCA report as one of the report outputs according to one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a harmful substance-containing report which is one of the report outputs of one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a new design job in one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a designed task in one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for creating new design configuration data in one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing a procedure for transferring new design configuration data in one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for executing a simulation in one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of executing a simulation in one embodiment of the present invention.

 FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure for executing the simulation (calculating the average harmful substance content) in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing a procedure for generating report data according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

 FIG. 25 is a block diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a system according to another embodiment of the present invention. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a basic configuration of an embodiment of a system according to the present invention.

 Referring to FIG. 1, a system according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “environmental simulation—shot system”) has, as its basic configuration, an environment information evaluation device 10 and environment information of parts registered in advance. It consists of a database (called the “environmental database”) 20 and an output file 15.

 As shown in Fig. 1, the environmental clearing evaluation device 10 includes a search unit 11, an environmental information evaluation unit 12, an environmental information evaluation result output unit 13, and a configuration data development unit. 14 and has. The search means 11 searches the database 20 for parts constituting the product, while the environmental information evaluation means 12 stores the environmental information of the parts in the database 2 as a result of the search by the search means 11. 0, the environmental information is used.If the environmental information of the component is not registered in the database 20, the environmental information of the component is registered in the database 20. From the averaging process for the environmental information of the parts of the same type or the same material, the evaluation value of the environmental information of the parts constituting the apparatus is calculated. The environmental information evaluation result output means 13 calculates the environmental information of the product by integrating the environmental information of the parts, and outputs the evaluation result of the environmental information calculated for the product to an output file 15 or the like. I do.

 This environment simulation system is preferably constructed on a server connected to a network 30 such as the Internet or an intranet (LAN), and is accessed from a client terminal 16 via the network 30. The information evaluation device 10 is configured to be able to use desired functions.

Further, the environmental information evaluation device 10 of the present invention includes configuration data expanding means 14 for expanding the device configuration data having a hierarchical structure to the lowest level for the device product. For example, an equipment product is composed of multiple boards, and each board has multiple circuit blocks. If each circuit block has components such as Ic and discrete elements, the device configuration data expanding means 14 expands the components as the device configuration data to the lowest level component based on the configuration data. A well-known database management system (not shown) is used for registering data in the database 20.

 With respect to the parts expanded by the configuration data expanding means 14, the searching means 11 searches the database 20 to evaluate the environmental information.

 In the embodiment of the present invention, the product development and design department uses a component information system (CIS: Component Information System) (search) to select environmentally friendly parts when selecting parts. Will be implemented. Such a design is also called “green design”.

 In the embodiment of the present invention, the search means 11, the environmental information evaluation means 12, the environmental information evaluation result output means 13, and the configuration data expanding means 14 are executed on a computer constituting the environmental information evaluation apparatus 10. The processing 'function is realized by the executed program. In this case, the program can be transferred from a recording medium (FD (floppy disk), CD-ROM, DVD (digital versatile disk), MT (magnetic tape), semiconductor memory, etc.) on which the program is recorded to a computer. The present invention can be implemented by mechanically reading and executing the program, or by downloading a program from a supercomputer or the like to a computer via a communication medium.

 In order to make it easy to understand the outline of the system according to the present invention, an embodiment applied to environmental evaluation of a product in a product supplier that develops, designs, and delivers the product will be described. In the following description, the form to which the system according to the present invention is applied, and the functions and features of the system according to the present invention will be immediately clarified.

Product suppliers purchase parts from component manufacturers and deliver products to customers. The product supplier prepares information such as the item code and name of the parts in the component list in the database (technical information database), and also obtains the environmental information (CO2 emissions) of the parts that have already been acquired. And harmful substance content) are registered and managed in the database. In the following, a description is given assuming that a product supplier has an organizational structure consisting of a quality assurance department, a development and design department, a production engineering department, and a sales department, but the organization to which the system according to the present invention is applied is such an organization. Of course, it is not limited only to the configuration. You.

 First, referring to Fig. 2 (a), a description will be given of a case where a device is newly designed in a product supplier.

 The quality assurance department conducts the above-mentioned predetermined product assessment 200 for newly designed equipment, and instructs the development and design department to present product specifications at the planning stage.

 Indicators for product assessment include, for example,

 Product weight reduction,

 Recycling,

 Easy disassembly and separation,

 Safety and environmental preservation,

 Ease of collection and transportation,

 Long-term use of products,

 Lower power consumption,

 Provision of information Z Instruction manual,

 Are set as appropriate as guidelines for product design.

 In addition, the Quality Assurance Department instructs the Production Engineering Department to prepare for environmental assessment as part of product assessment, that is, environmental simulation using the system of the present invention (10 in FIG. 1).

 The development and design department obtains a component list (referred to as “configuration data”) 202 that constitutes the development product equipment from the CAD system 201. The development and design department usually selects components from the component information database system that stores component information that stores component characteristic data and price information, and incorporates them into products. The Development & Design Department will respond to the Quality Assurance Department with the product specifications at the planning stage at the beginning of design. In the late design stage, the final product specifications will be answered.

 The Development & Design Department provides the Production Engineering Department with product configuration data.

The Production Engineering Department executes a simulation 203 of environmental information based on the configuration data 202 provided by the Development & Design Department. Note that the environmental information simulation-system according to the present invention is described in the applicant of the present invention as “VF—EC OJ (Virtual Factory ECO). system).

 If it is determined based on the results of the environmental simulation that it will have a significant impact on the environment, the development and design department will be requested to improve the design by reviewing the parts used. In addition, the development and design department can use the calculated environmental information (information on harmful substances, the amount of C02 generated, etc.) to promote green design using J (J).

 The Production Engineering Department submits the simulation results to the Quality Assurance Department as a report on the results of the environmental assessment. As a result of the simulation, a harmful substance total list, a product name code total list, etc. are output. '

 The system according to the present invention considers the environment that does not pollute the global environment when selecting the components that make up the product by providing the environment information of the components that make up the product when the product is newly designed by the development and design department. Parts can be selected, which makes it possible to support green design.

 Next, referring to Fig. 2 (b), the case where environmental information of the already designed equipment is requested will be described.

 The sales department receives a request from a customer to submit environmental information. Upon receiving this request, the sales department clarifies the target equipment to the Production Engineering Department and requests simulation of environmental information.

 The production engineering department develops and generates the configuration data 206 of the device by the configuration data developing means 11 of FIG. 1 based on the technical information database 205 for the device requested by the sales department. An environmental risk simulation 207 is carried out based on this configuration data, and the results of the simulation are submitted to the sales department as a report.

 As the report output function, an LCA report, a report on hazardous substances, a power consumption comparison report, a report on recycled plastic usage rate, a report on recycling rate, etc. are output.

 The sales department that receives the results of the environmental risk simulation from the production engineering department reports this to the customer.

The user can use all the functions of the system according to the present invention using the web browser on the client terminal, can output reports including graphs only with the browser, and install software on the client terminal. Work such as doing Is unnecessary.

 Next, the configuration of the database 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. Equipment products such as electrical and electronic equipment manufactured by product suppliers generally consist of electrical components (resistor and individual components of capacitors, relay switches, connectors, semiconductor devices) and mechanical components (chassis, board).

 The database 20 of the system according to the present invention for storing and managing the environmental information of these components has the following features.

 '[Database features]:

 (1) Information on electrical components is managed by classifying them by product type.

 (2) For mechanical parts, information on the materials is managed by parameters such as; material, plating, and painting.

 (3) Environmental information provided from a component manufacturer to a product supplier is managed separately from item information inside the product supplier.

 (4) The list of harmful substances given to the environment is managed in three levels (prohibited, avoided, and managed). Furthermore, the management policy of harmful substances differs for each product supplier and each customer who supplies products. In this case, according to each management policy, it is possible to perform evaluation and report output according to the type of hazardous substances to be managed and their ranking, and it is possible to support multiple management policies.

 (5) Parts and materials purchased by a product supplier from a component manufacturer are not managed by the product supplier's own product name code (product name code assigned internally by the product supplier), but managed by a single product of the component manufacturer. , Manage.

 (6) Product Supplier's Unique Product Strength The company manages and maintains related information (item-related) as to which manufacturer item (the component manufacturer—the manufacturer—item) is composed. In the case where one item is purchased from multiple parts manufacturers (also referred to as “multi-vendor purchasing”), this item-related It is managed and maintained in the form of many. The calculation of the content of harmful substances at the time of multi-vendor purchase is performed, for example, assuming that the component with the largest content has been selected for each harmful substance.

(7) — Generally, one component contains multiple types of harmful substances. Information on hazardous substances and their contents in parts (manufacturer's items) delivered by Riichi

(Hazardous items) is managed and maintained in a data model of one maker item and many harmful items (one-to-n parent-child relationship).

 (8) The content of harmful substances in electrical parts differs from point to point, even for parts of the same type and characteristics. In other words, even if the characteristics (same capacitance value, same resistance value) are the same for capacitors and resistors, for example, the content of the harmful substances will differ if the component manufacturers that provide them differ. Therefore, in the present invention, the environmental information of electric components is registered and managed in a database for each product type. On the other hand, the content of harmful substances in mechanical components (housings, etc.) is determined by the weight and surface area of the mechanical components, and is calculated when the material, plating, and painting are determined. Therefore, in the present invention, regarding the mechanical parts, the harmful substance content per unit weight of the material and the harmful substance content per unit area of the paint and coating are managed and retained as harmful material information. I have. As described above, in the system according to the present invention, the database 20 includes harmful item information for each manufacturer item of the component manufacturer, and associates the product supplier's unique product name code with the manufacturer item. It is possible to search the environmental information of the item from the product supplier's unique item name code through the item-related information for performing the item.

 By the way, the most time-consuming part of implementing an environmental information simulation system is collecting content from component manufacturers. According to the present invention, it is possible to execute an accurate environment simulation even when the environmental information of the parts is not completely prepared. And, as the collection amount of environmental information of parts increases, the simulation accuracy improves.

 In the system according to the present invention, environmental information of parts is managed by one item of a part maker that provides parts to a product supplier. For this reason, it is not necessary to re-enter the data in correspondence with the product supplier's product name code to avoid data duplication (avoiding double data input), thereby improving work efficiency.

Further, for example, when implementing the system according to the present invention at another product supplier (other business unit), it is possible to reuse the environmental information (content) of the parts, thereby shortening the system introduction, reducing the TCO ( Total Cost of Ownership) can be reduced. In addition, environmental information of mechanical parts is also registered in the database 20 in association with the material, weight, surface area, etc. of mechanical parts for each manufacturer of each component.

 Next, an environment simulation execution unit according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Simulation of environmental information on equipment products is usually performed by changing equipment configuration data (part list of equipment) consisting of a large number of parts many times. As a result, the amount of computation in the simulation increases, and the turnaround time (TAT) increases.

 'In addition, it is inefficient to execute the simulation by specifying the device configuration again every time a report is output.

 Therefore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the simulation work and the report output work are separated, and the result of the simulation decision can be registered as report output information.

 In the system of the present invention, the search of the database 20 by the search means 11 is performed in executing the simulation of the environmental information. As a result of the search, if the environmental information of the electrical components constituting the device has not been collected and has not been registered in the database 20, the electrical components that have already been registered in the database 20 will be registered. It extracts environmental information of parts of the same product type, calculates the weighted average of the environmental information for each part in real time, and then performs integration. The calculated environmental information of the electric component is registered in the database 20 and the value is used from the next time. Of course, if environmental information is provided from the component manufacturer for the part, the acquired environmental information is registered in the database.

 For environmental information on mechanical parts, environmental information is calculated from the material of the mechanical parts and information on weight, surface area, plating, and coating.

 As a result, accurate simulation can be performed even if collection of environmental information is insufficient.

 One of the features of the system according to the present invention is that a multi-user interface according to the number of pieces of simulation data is provided as search means 11 of database 20. That is, three types of configuration data are specified according to the number of cases for newly designed equipment.

(1) When searching for a small amount of data immediately, connect to the system from the terminal browser. Access and enter the product name code.

 (2) During a normal search, a file containing several to several hundreds of search item code information is transferred from the terminal browser to the search server and the search is executed, and the search result is displayed on the terminal.

 (3) In the case of a batch search of a large amount of data exceeding an order of 1,000, the search request is copied to the file server, and the search server stores the search results in the file server. Further, the system according to the present invention is provided with means for automatically expanding configuration data (14 in FIG. 1) corresponding to the device. In other words, the system includes configuration data expansion means 14 for expanding the configuration data of the device (list of components constituting the device) over, for example, a plurality of (multi) layers, and expanding the components to the lower-level components. In 2, the environmental information of each part is integrated. The user automatically expands the configuration data of the child item that constitutes the item name code only by specifying the item name code of the parent, for example, and when there is a grandchild item that constitutes the child item, The configuration data relating to the grandchild item is automatically developed. Therefore, by inputting the product name code, the development designer or the like can obtain environmental information obtained by integrating the environmental information of the children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchild components of the product name code.

 The introduction of the system according to the present invention configured as described above is expected to enhance environmental measures in the equipment industry.

 By introducing the system according to the present invention, it is possible to quantitatively grasp environmental information such as the harmful substance content and the amount of C02 generated.

 Manufacturers are strongly required by customers and other companies to take environmental measures for their products.In the future, it is inevitable that environmental measures in accordance with the procurement guidelines of customer companies will be required. By introducing and implementing the system according to the present invention, it is possible to expect an improvement in business results such as an increase in orders due to a focus on environmental measures. In addition, interest in environmental issues is increasing in society, and companies that place importance on environmental initiatives have a good public opinion. Environmental measures also enhance non-price competitiveness, such as improving the image of a company and securing excellent human resources.

According to the present invention, all systems including the report function are configured as a network-type system connected to the Internet and an intranet, so that dedicated software can be installed on the terminal and specific configuration settings (environmental settings) can be made. Environment setting) is not required, and TCII will be reduced.

 Further, according to the present invention, since the component maker information is independently managed, it is possible to compare the amount of harmful substances used by each component maker. Parts can be purchased preferentially from advanced parts manufacturers. Also, it is possible to instruct and educate parts manufacturers who have not advanced environmental measures to strengthen environmental measures.

 In the system of the present invention, environmental information is aggregated for each item and linked to the parts information system. This allows, for example, at the product development stage in Fig. 2 (a), the development designer to select "environmentally friendly" parts that do not contain or have a low content of harmful substances. Green design is possible.

 By the way, it can be said that there is no official standard for regulation of harmful substances in equipment at present. For this reason, equipment manufacturers and companies that purchase equipment are setting their own internal standards. In such a situation, manufacturers that conduct business globally have to carry out environmental measures for each customer, country of delivery, and local government, and output reports. According to the system of the present invention, in response to such a situation, it is possible to hold a plurality of management policies for harmful substances, change the management method to the management policy of the report presentation destination, and execute simulation. Can be performed.

 Further, according to the present invention, the product supplier does not manage the information on the parts and materials purchased from the component manufacturer using the product supplier's own product name code (product name code assigned inside the product supplier). It is possible to handle multi-vendor purchases because it is controlled by the manufacturer's items. With reference to the drawings, the above-described embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail using examples.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a system configuration of one embodiment of the present invention. The system configuration shown in FIG. 3 is a configuration example for more specifically describing the embodiment described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the technical information mainframe 31 has a master file of component information, and data is downloaded from the master file to the technical information server 32. The technical information database 32 A for registering and managing the item data in the technical information server 32 corresponds to the technical information database 205 in FIG. 2B. It is possible to develop a pre-designed equipment configuration from the equipment information stored in the Technical Information Data Base 32 A.

 An environment simulation system according to one embodiment of the present invention is configured by a server group. The illustrated server 33 is a database (DB) server 25 with an environmental database 20 (corresponding to the database 20 in FIG. 1), and a database server 25. An application server 35 that executes simulations in cooperation with the server, a report server 36 that generates report output of simulation results, and a web server 37 that provides a user interface to client terminals 38, etc. Is included.

 The web browser of the client terminal 38 inputs, for example, an HTML (hypertext markup statement) sentence from the web server 37, and selects and executes various functions of the environmental simulation system on the screen of the terminal 38. Is done. In other words, the functions of the environment simulation system can be accessed from the browser of the client terminal 38 via the Internet 30, and the installation of dedicated software is not required. By simply clicking print from the browser screen of the client terminal 38, the output data (including image data) from the report server 36 is printed out on the client terminal 38 printer.

 In addition, by setting the item-related information that defines the relationship between a manufacturer item and a product supplier item in the environmental database 20 for other product suppliers, other product suppliers (business units) 39 also Available.

 FIG. 4 shows a relation between data stored in the environment database 20 according to the embodiment of the present invention using a data model.

 In the environmental database 20, information on electrical components is classified and managed for each product type. The electrical component type table 101 is a table including the type as a primary key (P K) and the amount of C 02 generated as information.

For mechanical components, information on mechanical materials is classified and managed, for example, for each of three types of parameters: material, plating, and painting. The material table 102 contains the material symbol (P (Primary key), material, classification (primary key), and CO 2 emissions. The maker table 103 has one maker, the maker table 103 has a maker item table 105 as a child as a parent-child relationship (1 to! 1) of the data model, The manufacturer's item table 105 contains the manufacturer's product name, manufacturer's name, weight, power consumption, area, type, material, plating, painting, CO2 emissions, and the like.

 The manufacturer-item table 105 has, as a parent-child relationship of the data model, an item-related table 106 as a child, and the item-related table 106 has a manufacturer item name and an item name code as keys.

 The item relation table 106 associates the item name code of the component item within the product supplier (business office) with the manufacturer name of the component in the component manufacturer that supplies the component. The manufacturer name (manufacturer one item) can be searched from the product name code. The list can be searched and output.

 The item relation table 106 has the item name of the product supplier as a child, and the item name table 116 has an item name code, a model name, a standard mark, and a name code.

 The product type table 101 has a product type determination table 108 as a child of the parent-child relationship of the data model. . The primary key is used for search key, and the formal key is used for verifying the existence of the parent in the parent-child relationship data model, and the unique key takes a unique value. Although CK is a check key, since it is not directly related to the subject of the present invention, detailed description of these keys is omitted.

 The name code table 1 17 contains Japanese names, English names, and database registration dates. The product name table 1 16 and the name code table 1 17 are also information stored in the component information database managed by the technical information server.

The material table 102 has multiple hazardous material tables 109 as children (parent-child relationship in the data model) (1: n). The hazardous material table 109 has symbols, hazardous substance names, presence / absence, and content. Has quantity. For example, for materials such as chassis, which are the mechanical components of products, substances of harmful materials such as lead and force dome are linked for each material such as iron and plastic resin. I do.

 The Hazardous Substances Table 104 contains harmful substance names, harmful ranks, and harmful levels (quantified data), and has a Hazardous Materials Table 109 and a Hazardous Items Table 107 as children.

 The Hazardous Items Table 107 contains manufacturer item names, harmful substance names, presence / absence of harmful substances, and content.

 The equipment item table 1 1 1 contains the product name code, equipment name, power consumption, weight, and recycled plastic.

 The device item table 111 has, as children, LCA 110 retrieved by an item name code, and LCA 110 has information on the item name code, life stage, and CO 2 generation amount. The equipment item table 111 has the equipment hazard table 112 as a child, and the equipment hazard table 112 contains the product name code, hazardous substance name, and content.

 The hazardous format table 113 has a format, a standard hazardous substance name, a changed hazardous substance name, and a hazardous level, and has a hazardous substance table 104 and a format table 114 as children.

 Equipment Item Table 1 1 1 and Format Table 1 1 4 have Equipment Hazard Report Table 1 15 as a child, and Equipment Hazard Report Table 1 1 5 has Format, Product Name Code, Hazardous Substance Name, Hazardous Rank, Hazardous. Level, content.

 In one embodiment of the present invention, a configuration of a database 20 that realizes a function of classifying and managing information of electric components for each product type will be described.

 FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a specific configuration for realizing the feature (1) described as a feature of the database in the embodiment. Electrical component information is classified and managed for each product type.

The product type table 101 is composed of a table that stores a list of electrical components and the amount of CO 2 generated for each product type. The product type table 101 contains a manufacturer item table 1 that stores information for each manufacturer. Link with 05, type judgment table 108. The type determination table 108 is a table for determining the type from the name code. The name code is acquired from the item information, and the name code is used to associate the English and Japanese names. It is a table.

 FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a specific configuration for realizing the above-mentioned feature (2) of the database. For mechanical parts, the information on the materials is managed in a series of parameters such as material, plating, and painting.

 Information on mechanical materials is classified and managed for each of three parameters, for example, material, paint, and paint. The material information table 102, which is a table that stores a list of materials, plating, and coating of mechanical parts and the amount of C02 generation, points to the manufacturer item information table 105.

 FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a specific configuration for realizing feature (3) of the database described above. The maker table 103, which is the information of the trading part maker, is managed separately from the maker-item table 105, which is the table containing the information of the maker. The manufacturer table 103 and the manufacturer item table 105 are a one-to-one parent-child data model. Hazardous substance content information can be compared for each manufacturer with one manufacturer as the key.

 FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a specific configuration for realizing the above-mentioned feature (4) of the database.

 The list of hazardous substances that affect the environment is managed in three stages (prohibited, avoided, and managed). The types of harmful substances and their classification can be adapted to multiple management policies. The manufacturer-item table 105 with the manufacturer information of the component manufacturer has multiple hazardous item tables 107 for each manufacturer as a child of the data model, and the hazardous substance table 104 is also a hazardous item. It has table 107 as a child of the data model. In the Hazardous Substances Table 104, there are three levels of harmful ranks: banned, avoided, and managed according to the hazard level of the harmful substances. The harmful level is a numerical value of the harmful rank, and standard data of the product supplier is set. The harmful levels are prohibited = 1, avoidance = 2, control = 3.

The prohibition prohibits harmful substances, and parts containing such harmful substances cannot be used. Avoidance is to reduce the amount of harmful substances as much as possible, and management is to perform prescribed management of harmful substances, such as reporting the content. Rank is prohibited It becomes lower in the order of stop, avoidance, management, etc.

 The hazardous substance table 104 has a hazardous format table 113 as a child of the data model. Hazardous format table 1 1 3 performs harmful substance name notation and conversion of harmful ranks (conversion from product suppliers to customer-specific ranks) to support harmful material management methods that differ for each customer. It is a table.

 The harmful format table 113 has the format table 114 as a child of the data model. The format table 114 consists of information on the list of hazardous substance management policies of the customer company.

 The format table 114 has a device hazard report table 111 as a child of the data model. Equipment Hazard Report Table 1 1 1 is a table of hazardous substance management report data to be submitted to customers, and it is possible to output the same equipment in a format that conforms to the management method of each customer company to which it is submitted.

 Hazardous item table 107 is determined from manufacturer's one item table 105, and for each harmful item, it is necessary for notation and ranking of harmful substances for customers based on information in harmful format table 113. Conversion is performed, and information on the device harmful report table 1 12 for each customer is created.

 FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a specific configuration for realizing the features (5) and (6) of the database. Information on parts and materials of product suppliers is not managed by product supplier's own product name code, but is managed by component manufacturer's item table 105. It maintains an item-related table 106 that indicates which manufacturer's items are made up of items unique to the product supplier.

 The manufacturer item table 105, which is a table of the manufacturer item information of the part manufacturer, has the item relation table 106 as a plurality of children, and one item of the product supplier can handle multiple parts manufacturer items. I have. In other words, in the case where one item is purchased from a plurality of component manufacturers (multi-vendor purchasing), this item-related table 106 is a one-manufacturer-item table for one product supplier item. Is managed and maintained in the form of many.

Since it is not possible to determine whether parts from the vendor (parts manufacturer) will be used in the product during the production of the applicable equipment, the calculation of the content of harmful substances when purchasing multi-vendors requires For each quality, the components with the highest content are counted as selected.

 Parts information is managed in the main-item table 105 and does not depend on the item information of the product suppliers, so the content can be used by multiple product suppliers.

 FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a specific configuration for realizing the feature (7) of the database described above. In order to cope with the situation where one part contains multiple types of harmful substances, multiple harmful item tables 1 0 7 (1 (N-n parent-child relationship). FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining a specific configuration for realizing the above-mentioned feature (8) of the database.

 The material table 102 has a manufacturer-item table 105 and a hazardous material table 109 as children of the data model. As shown, the material table 102 holds information on the material, coating, and plating.

 The manufacturer item table 105 holds the weight and area information of the mechanical parts, and holds information on the materials, plating, and types of coating used for the mechanical parts.

 The hazardous material template 1 09

 Hazardous substance content per unit weight of material,

 Harmful substance content per unit area of plating,

 Information on the content of harmful substances per unit area of coating is stored.

 The total amount of harmful substances contained in mechanical components (housings, etc.) is calculated based on the materials of the mechanical components and their weight, surface area, plating, and type of coating.

 FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the registration processing of the simulation result according to the embodiment of the present invention. The simulation of the environmental information of the equipment product is executed by changing the equipment configuration data (part list of the equipment) consisting of a large number of parts many times, and is executed every time a report is output. It is inefficient to execute a simulation by specifying. Therefore, in an embodiment of the present invention, the simulation work and the report output work are separated, and the result of the simulation can be registered as report output information.

In the device item table 1 1 1, basic information of the device is registered, and the product name The integration information other than the code, device name, power consumption, weight, and regeneration plus tip weight is automatically set.

 The equipment item table 111 has the LCA table 110 as a child of the data model. The life stage of LCA will be described. LCA calculates the amount of CO2 generated in six life stages, namely, raw material production, parts production, product assembly, distribution, use, and disposal, for each device name (product name code). .

 Otsu. The eight tables 110 register the amount of CO 2 generated in each of the life stages of raw material production, parts production, product assembly, distribution, use, and disposal determined as a result of the LCA simulation. Normally, the determined value is registered as a result of multiple simulations.

 The device item table 1 1 1 1 has a device hazard table 1 1 2 as a child of the data model. Simulation results of harmful substances are registered in the device harmful table 1 1 2. Normally, a determined value is registered as a result of a plurality of simulations. When the device harm table 1 1 2 is updated, the device harm report table 1 15 is automatically updated. The device harmful report table 115 is used as report data submitted to customers.

 Also, for each supplier (business entity) or customer company that uses the system according to the present invention, a management policy for harmful substances (which substances are harmful and how harmful ranks are determined) In response to these differences, the types of hazardous substances to be managed and their rankings can be adapted to multiple management policies. In other words, the harmful substance table 104 has the harmful format table 113 as a child (one-to-n parent-child relationship) and provides different harmful ranks and harmful level information for one harmful substance. And the name of the harmful substance can be changed and adjusted (for example, “mercury” is changed to “mercury compound”), and the format table 114 and the equipment hazard format table 115 The types of harmful substances to be managed and their ranking can be determined for each device supplied to the customer.

 As described above, the content of harmful substances in electrical components differs by one point, even for parts of the same type and with the same characteristics. That is, for example, the characteristics of capacitors and resistors

(Same capacitance value, same resistance value) If they differ, the content of the harmful substance differs. The content of harmful substances in mechanical parts (housings, etc.) is determined by the weight and surface area of the mechanical parts, and is calculated when the material, plating, and coating are determined.

 In the present invention, regarding the mechanical parts, the content of harmful substances per unit weight of the material and the content of harmful substances per unit area of paint and coating are managed and maintained as a manufacturer item table 105. I have.

 According to the present invention, when information on the environmental information (hazardous substance content, C02 emission amount, etc.) of the corresponding item of the electric component is not registered in the environmental database 20, the harmful substance content of the electric component is calculated as follows. The weighted average of the harmful substance content and the component weight of the same type of component (one manufacturer) registered in the environmental database 20 is calculated.

 As mentioned above, it is necessary to collect information from the component manufacturers one by one for the environmental data of the electrical components included in the equipment. However, this information

 1. The number of target parts is large,

 2. It takes time and money to analyze contained substances at product suppliers or parts manufacturers,

 3. May touch the trade secrets of parts manufacturers

 Therefore, it is difficult to collect complete information.

 For this reason, it can be said that it is practically impossible to register accurate information on the content of harmful substances in manufacturers' items in the database for all electrical components.

 Therefore, in one embodiment of the present invention, when environmental data has not been collected from a component manufacturer, a weighted average is obtained in real time at the time of execution of the environmental simulation of the equipment product for each product type, Used for calculation in simulation.

 If there are n parts of the same type registered in the environmental database 20 and the weight of the i-th part is wi and the harmful substance content is zi, the weight data of the electric parts with W is The harmful substance content Z is calculated as follows:

 Z = W-{(∑ni = l z i / wi) / n}. Similarly, when the i-th component weight is w i and the harmful substance content rate is X i, the harmful substance content Z of the electric component whose weight data is W is calculated by averaging (weighted average)

ZW {(∑ni = lxi · wi) Z (∑ni = lw i)}. In this way, a highly accurate simulation can be realized even if the environmental information of the parts is lacking.

 That is, in one embodiment of the present invention, environmental data of electrical components is stored in a database.

Even if it is not registered in 20, it is calculated from the environmental data of representative parts, so the environmental data of all parts is collected from the parts manufacturer etc. and registered in the database 20 If not, the system can be operated, making system introduction easier.

 As shown in FIG. 3, in one embodiment of the present invention, all of the system functions can be used only by the web browser on the client terminal 38.

 In addition, environmental report output with graphs can be printed out exactly as displayed on the screen without relying on the print function of the Internet web browser.

 In addition, when introducing the system according to the present invention to another business site or the like, there is a case where it is not necessary to newly collect harmful substance content information from a component manufacturer. By simply maintaining the relevant information (item-related templates 106) on which parts manufacturer's own item is composed of the item unique to the product supplier (business entity), it can be used for any product supplier. Easy and short-term introduction of the system.

 The system according to an embodiment of the present invention includes three types of configuration data designation methods according to the number of simulation data as multi-user interfaces according to the number of simulation data.

 (1) To search a small amount of data immediately, enter the product name code from the web browser of the client terminal.

 (2) During a normal search, a file containing the search item code information is transferred from the terminal browser to the search server and the search is executed, and the search results are displayed on the terminal.

 (3) In the case of batch search of large amounts of data, the search request is copied to the file server, and the search server stores the search results on the file server.

 By preparing a plurality of user interfaces in this way, flexible search processing from a large amount of data processing (batch processing) to individual search is enabled.

In one embodiment of the present invention, item and name information are stored and managed for parts of the apparatus. It provides a function to automatically deploy equipment configuration data by linking to the technical information database 32 A of the core system.

 In the case of already designed equipment, it is not necessary to create configuration data, and it is linked to the core system's technical information database (parts information database) 32 A, and only the parent item information is specified. Automatically collect item information of all layers. The simulation output of environmental information includes a list of harmful substances (including graph information),

—Contains a summary list, LCA report, etc.

 FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a report output result of the environment simulation system according to one embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing an example of a product name code total list. In the example shown in Fig. 13, in the six parts (capacitor, connector, coil, IC, cable, shield case), the product name code column, model name column, standard column, type column, material column, plating column, Includes painting column, quantity column, weight column, power consumption column, area column, C02 emission column, toxic substance content (mg) column, and toxic substance content (%) column. The standard gives environmental guideline information and takes values such as numerical values 1, 2, and 3 according to the degree of recommendation.

 Of the hit ratios, 2 were registered, the hit ratio (environmental information of parts was registered in the database) was 33.30%, and the average (obtained by the load averaging process) was 4 66.7%, mistakes 0%.

 FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a report output result of the environmental simulation 'system of one embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing an example of a harmful substance unit total list. Toxic ranks are banned, avoided, and managed for each hazardous substance name. This harmful rank is variable according to the customer management method. The harmful substance content can be tabulated for each harmful rank.

 FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a report output result of the environmental simulation system according to one embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram illustrating an example of an LCA report. For the equipment name and product name code, the amount of C02 generated in each stage of raw material production, parts production, product assembly, distribution, use, and disposal, and the total amount are output.

An outline of a method of calculating the amount of generated C02 (LCA evaluation method) in each stage of raw material production, parts production, product assembly, distribution, use, and treatment in one embodiment of the present invention will be described below. 1. Raw material production:

 CO2 emissions from mechanical parts = (CO2 emissions per unit weight of material) X (part weight The sum of C〇2 emissions from mechanical parts per unit of equipment is calculated as C〇2 emissions from raw material production. I do.

 2. Parts manufacturing:

 Amount of C 0 2 generated from electrical parts-(Amount of C 0 2 generated per type of electrical component) I do.

 3. Equipment assembly:

 Amount of CO 2 generated in equipment assembly = (power consumption required for production per device) X (C〇2 generated per energy used)

 Power consumption required for production per device = (power consumption at factory) / (average device production capacity)

 4. Distribution:

 Distribution of CO 2 generated-(weight of equipment) X (CO 2 generated by transport per weight) CO 2 generated by transport per weight is

 Amount of C O 2 generated by transport per weight-(Transport distance) / (4 t truck fuel efficiency) (Amount of C 0 2 generated per liter of light oil) Z4 0 0 0

 5. When using:

 C〇2 generated during use = (power consumption during use of equipment) X (CO 2 generated per amount of energy used) X (useful life)

 Therefore, in the case of products with a long service life, C〇2 in the use stage will be dominant.

 The power consumption during the use of the equipment is measured by the Development and Design Department at the time of product assessment completion, etc.

 6. Disposition:

Amount of C02 generated during disposal (Amount of C02 generated by transport to disposal site per weight) + (Amount of CO2 generated by disposal per weight) Amount of CO 2 generated by disposal per weight = (Power consumption of one unit of shredder) X (Amount of CO 2 generated per amount of energy used) (Crushing time)

 FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a report output result of the environment simulation system of one embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing a harmful substance report sample. The report output is generated and output by the JAVA report function of the report server 37 in FIG. In the example shown in Fig. 16, the harmful rank rate and harmful substance content rate are displayed in a pie chart for the device name and product name code, and the harmful substance name, its content, and the total harmful rank for each rank are shown for each rank. , The device total is output. As described above, in one embodiment of the present invention, the report output including the graph (image) information is selected by selecting the print output with the browser of the terminal 38 (FIG. 3), so that the report output remains as the screen display image. One is printed out. The details of an example in which the system according to the present invention is applied to the environment evaluation of a communication device will be described below with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 are diagrams showing details of the processing procedure shown in FIG.

 Figure 17 is a diagram for explaining the processing (business) flow for a new product design.

 The quality assurance department conducts product assessment as described above for the newly designed product (step S11).

 The development and design department is requested to create a product assessment, and the development and design department creates a product assessment (step S12).

 The Production Engineering Department prepares an environmental assessment as an integral part of the product assessment, that is, a simulation using the system of the present invention (step S13).

 The development and design department creates product configuration data from the CAD system (step S14).

 The Production Engineering Department executes an environmental simulation with reference to the product configuration data from the Development & Design Department and the environmental database (Step S15).

The Production Engineering Department creates an environmental report (Step S16). The report for customer submission includes a database consisting of information on the presence or absence of harmful substances, comparison of power consumption, usage rate of recycled plus chips, life cycle assessment, recycling rate, etc. The Development & Design Department submits the product assessment result report to the Quality Assurance Department (Step

S 17) o

 The quality assurance department receives the product assessment (step S18).

 FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining a processing flow when presenting environmental information to a customer about an already designed product.

 The sales department receives a request from the customer to submit environmental information (step S21).

 The sales department clarifies the target equipment to the production engineering department and requests an environmental risk simulation (step S22). This is done to understand the environmental risks in the delivered equipment.

 The Production Engineering Department expands and generates the equipment configuration information requested by the Sales Department, performs an environmental risk simulation with reference to the environmental database (step S23), and outputs a report on the simulation results. (Step S24). The Production Engineering Department submits the report to the Sales Department, and the Sales Department receives the environmental report (Step S25) and submits it to the customer (Step S26).

 FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the process of outputting the configuration data to the newly designed product in FIG. 17 (step S14). For the product currently being designed, the CAD system 201 outputs a component list (configuration data) 202 that constitutes the equipment.

 According to the configuration data 202, the device is composed of a plurality of units (for example, substrates), each unit (substrate) is composed of a plurality of circuit blocks, and each circuit block is composed of a semiconductor device and individual components. In other words, it is represented as hierarchical component tree information.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a processing procedure of executing the environmental simulation (step S15) in FIG. 17, and is a diagram showing a transfer control of the configuration data before the simulation is executed. The following processing steps are processed and controlled by a computer executed on the computer. By specifying the file from the web browser, the file (product configuration data file) 202 on the client terminal of the development and design department is specified (step S31), and the file transmission instruction from the web browser The data of the development design department is transmitted (step S32), and the environment simulation system of the production engineering department receives the product configuration data and stores the product configuration data file 1 on the server. It is stored in 22 (step S33).

 FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure when the environment simulation is executed (step S15 in FIG. 17 and step S23 in FIG. 18). The following processing steps are processed and controlled by a computer executed on a server computer. The product configuration data file 122 is read, and the product configuration data 122 A is stored in the memory (step S41).

 The product configuration data 122 A is read from the memory, expanded, and the expanded product configuration data 120 is stored. The parts tree that takes the hierarchical structure of the device is expanded to the leaf at the end of the tree structure (step S42).

 The simulation is executed with reference to the technical information database that stores the items and names, the components of the developed product configuration data, and the environmental database 20 (step S43).

 If the total result of harmful substances is output for the simulation result data 1 21, the total result of harmful substances 1 2 1 A is output (step S 44).

 In the case of item code total output, output the item code total result 1 2 1 B (Step S 4 5) o

 In the case of detailed result output, detailed result 1 2 1 C is output (step S46).

 FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing a simulation processing procedure in one embodiment of the present invention. The following processing steps are processed and controlled by a computer executed on a server computer.

 From the item table 1 16 (see Fig. 4) in the technical information database (the database on the technical information server 32 in Fig. 3), acquire the item information (model name, classification) of the product supplier (step S5). D o

 By searching the environmental database 20 and referring to the manufacturer item 105 and the item relation 106, the item of the product supplier is converted into one manufacturer item and the manufacturer item information is obtained (step S52). .

 In the manufacturer item information, weight, area, type, material, plating, painting, and CO2 emission are stored.

The presence or absence of harmful item information is checked (step S53). If there is harmful item information, refer to the harmful substance table 104 and the harmful item table 107 to obtain the harmful substance content (step S54) and simulate the data. , Hazardous substance name, Content, Content rate, Hazardous rank, Hazardous level, Model name, Standard mark, Varieties, Materials, Meshes, Painting, Quantity, Weight, Power consumption, Area, C

0 2 generation amount) is stored in the memory.

 If there is no hazardous item information, read the hazardous substance table 104, the developed product composition data table 120, calculate the average hazardous substance content (step S55), and obtain the simulation result data 121 Store in memory.

 FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the average harmful substance content calculation processing in step 55 of FIG. The following processing steps are processed and controlled by a computer executed on a server computer.

 It is determined whether the component is an electric component or a mechanical component (step S61). In this judgment, if the type is set in the information of the manufacturer-item table 105 (see FIG. 4), if the electric component and the material are set, it is judged as the mechanical part.

 As a result of the judgment in step S61, in the case of an electric component, a manufacturer-item table 105 storing common information of the component, and a hazardous item table 1075 storing a kind and a harmful substance content of the electric component are stored. Refer to the Hazardous Substance Table 104, which stores basic information on harmful substances, and the developed product composition data 120, and obtain the average harmful substance content of the variety (step

562), and stores the simulation result data 121 in the memory.

 In the case of a mechanical part, the content of harmful substances contained in the material of the mechanical part is calculated from the weight of the mechanical part (step S63).

 Calculate the harmful substance content in the plating from the area of the mechanical parts (Step S

6 4).

 The harmful substance content in the paint is calculated from the area of the mechanical component (step S65). The value obtained by adding these results is stored in the memory as simulation result data 121.

FIG. 24 is a flowchart showing the procedure of report data output in one embodiment of the present invention. The following processing steps are performed and controlled by a computer executed on a server computer. The simulation result data 121 is read from the memory, and the clear report (weight integration result) of the device item table 111 of the environment database 20 is updated (step S71). The harmful substance accumulation result is registered in the equipment harmful table 1 12 of the environmental database 20 (step S72).

 Register the LCA integration result in the LCA table 1 10 of the environmental database 20

(Step S73).

 The information of the harmful tapes of the equipment is read by referring to the harmful format table that stores the conversion data for outputting the report corresponding to the harmful substance management method that differs for each customer. Converts the results of hazardous substance integration into report data to be submitted to customers (step S74), and registers the report data containing harmful substances to be submitted to customers to the Equipment Hazard Report Table 115 on the Environmental Data Base 20 I do.

 In one embodiment of the present invention, if environmental information has not been collected for a component of the same type as the electrical component of the configuration data, a weighted average for each type of the same type registered in the database is calculated in real time. Then, add up. If the environmental information of mechanical parts has not been collected, it is calculated from the information on materials, plating, and painting. As a result, even when the collection of environmental information is insufficient, a highly accurate simulation can be executed. That is, the introduction of the system of the present invention is expected to enhance environmental measures in the equipment industry. Next, a system according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Before explaining the system shown in Fig. 25, the relationship between eco-friendly parts and cost will be explained first. Generally, eco-friendly parts are generally more expensive than non-eco-friendly parts, so the cost of products composed of these eco-friendly parts tends to rise. However, rising product costs will reduce the competitiveness of products in the market. For this reason, it is an important task for product manufacturing to produce products that are environmentally friendly and as inexpensive as possible.

In addition, the Green Purchasing Law has recently been enforced, and it has become necessary for product manufacturers to purchase parts and the like from companies that are actively working on environmental issues. In this way, in order to purchase parts on a priority basis, information on the environmental activities of the parts manufacturers (such as the acquisition of IS〇140001 and the use of harmful substances at the time of manufacturing, etc.) is stored in an environmental database. It is considered to be managed. For this reason, product manufacturers Information on the efforts to the parts is notified by a questionnaire from each component manufacturer, and the information on the efforts is also stored in the database, and in the parts selection stage, the information is also searched in real time with reference to the information on the efforts In this way, an environment simulation system is configured.

 On the other hand, the quality and cost of each part are managed as part information by the part information system.

 The system shown in Fig. 25 includes an environment simulation system 1000 that also stores the above-mentioned environmental action information in a database, and a component information system 2000, and has a configuration in which both are linked. Have. Here, the environmental simulation system 100 is used for selecting parts that are environmentally friendly. The database of the environmental simulation system 1000 includes a product data management system (PDM) 3 The parts configuration data and the mechanical drawing data are given and stored from 000 and the CAD system 400, respectively, and the results of the questionnaire from the parts maker are also stored. On the other hand, in the database of the parts information system 2000, price information of parts, quality information and the like are stored.

In this example, among the information stored in the database of the environmental simulation system 1000, the environmental information of electrical parts and mechanical parts (hazardous rank of harmful substances, harmful substance type, mass, purpose, etc.) ) Is linked to the parts information system 2000 together with the manufacturer's approach information. For this reason, when designing products, the optimal parts are determined from the parts information system 2000, information on the quality and cost of the parts to be used (parts information), and the environmental information from the environmental scheduling system. Repeat the simulation at the unit level and product level. As a result, it is possible to realize a product design that considers the environment and also reduces costs. As described above, in this embodiment, it is possible to develop an environment-friendly product, output an environmental report such as an LCA report, etc., and disclose it to customers and the like as environmental information. . Therefore, in this embodiment, by linking the environment simulation system 1000 and the component information system 2000, the environment and cost can be compared and examined in the component selection stage, and the design can be performed quickly. From the stage, a balance design that considers the balance between environment and cost becomes possible. In addition, the parts simulation has been added to the environmental simulation system. Information on the status of environmental efforts, such as power, is also stored in the form of a database, and by referring to this information, it is possible to select environmentally friendly parts manufacturers.

 Although FIG. 25 has been described on the assumption that in the environment simulation system, the environmental information of the same type of parts is averaged for parts for which environmental information has not been registered. It is not always necessary to perform arithmetic processing such as averaging processing or the like, and it is only necessary to indicate that no registration has been made.

 Although the present invention has been described with reference to the above embodiment, the contents of the illustrated drawings are not intended to limit the present invention, but merely to illustrate and explain the present invention. Naturally, the present invention includes various changes and modifications that can be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the invention set forth in the claims. The invention's effect

 As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

 A first effect of the present invention is that a highly accurate simulation can be executed even when collection of environmental information is insufficient.

 The reason is that the environment information of the uncollected parts is calculated by the averaging process from the known environment information of the parts. In the present invention, the contents of the database storing the environmental information are increased by the public information and the information provided by the component manufacturer, and the accuracy of the evaluation result is further improved.

 A second effect of the present invention is that, when providing environmental information of a delivered product to a customer, the environmental information corresponding to the management policy of each customer can be provided.

 The reason is that, based on the rank information corresponding to the customer's management method, the evaluation result of the environmental information is output as a report.

 A third effect of the present invention is that the system introduction can be shortened.

The reason is that, in the present invention, the parts information in the database uses the information of the parts manufacturer (content) as it is, and the part name code of the product supplier is linked to the parts name information by the item-related information. System to other offices, etc. This is because it is only necessary to prepare item-related information for introduction.

 A fourth effect of the present invention is that the TOC of system use is reduced. The reason is that, in the present invention, the system is configured to be connected to a network such as the Internet or an intranet, and any function of the system can be accessed from the existing browser installed in the terminal, and the dedicated software is used. This eliminates the need for software installation and environment settings. In addition, in the present invention, when constructing a database for storing environmental information, the environmental information of the parts manufacturer is used as it is, eliminating the need to input data to product suppliers, thereby reducing operating costs. Can be achieved. According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a report output such as a graph as an image displayed on a screen from a browser of a client terminal.

 A fifth effect of the present invention is that evaluation data of environmental information of a product can be obtained in advance at the time of trial manufacture of a product, and the product can be used for product assessment and green design. The reason is that, in the present invention, for a newly designed product, environmental information is calculated from product configuration data.

 A sixth effect of the present invention is that since environmental information of parts is managed by a manufacturer's product name, it is easy to deal with multi-vendor purchase.

 A seventh effect of the present invention is that simulation work efficiency is improved.

 The reason for this is that the simulation work and the simulation result output are separated, and the simulation decision result is registered as report output information.

 An eighth effect of the present invention is that an appropriate processing mode is selected according to the data amount of a search.

 The reason for this is that the multi-user interface is configured such that the interface can be freely selected according to the amount of search data.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. An environmental information evaluation device that calculates an evaluation value of the environmental information of the product by integrating the environmental information of the component from a list of components constituting the product with reference to a storage unit that manages environmental information of the component. And

 For the components constituting the product, it is determined whether or not the environmental information of the component is registered in the storage unit and whether or not the component is unregistered. If not, the environment information is already registered in the storage unit. Means for calculating an evaluation value of the environmental information of the component constituting the product by performing a predetermined arithmetic processing on the environmental information of the component of the same type or the same material as the component. An environmental information evaluation device characterized by the following.

 2. An environmental information evaluation device that derives an evaluation value of the environmental information of the product by accumulating the environmental information of the component from a component list with reference to a storage unit that stores and manages environmental information of the component. And

 It is determined whether or not environmental information of the component is registered in the storage means or unregistered for the electrical component constituting the product, and if not, a component of the same type as the electrical component is determined. Means for calculating an evaluation value of the environmental information of the electrical components constituting the product by averaging the environmental information of a plurality of components whose environmental information is registered in the storage means. An environmental information evaluation device, characterized in that:

 3. Refer to the storage means that stores and manages environmental information related to the materials and surface treatment of mechanical parts, and by integrating the environmental information of the parts, such as the list of parts that make up the product, the environmental information of the product is obtained. An environmental information evaluation device that calculates

 For the mechanical parts constituting the product, the environmental information of the mechanical parts is evaluated based on the environmental information of the materials registered in the storage means from the information on the weight, area, and surface treatment of the material of the mechanical parts. Environmental information comprising means for calculating a value.

4. A database in which environmental information of parts is registered in advance,

Search means for searching the database for parts constituting the product; and, if the search results indicate that the environment information of the search target part is registered in the database, the search unit uses the environment information; The environmental clearing of the part to be searched is If it is not registered in the database, it is registered in the database, from the averaging process of the environmental information of the component of the same type or the same material as the component to be searched, Environmental information evaluation means for calculating an evaluation value;

 Environmental information evaluation result output means for outputting an evaluation result of environmental information calculated for the product,

 An environmental information simulation system comprising:

 5. The environmental information of the component to be searched is calculated from the weight of the component to be searched based on the environmental information of the component registered in the database. Environmental information simulation system.

 6. The environmental information of the electric component to be searched is stored in a plurality of components in which the component item is registered in the database and the electric component of the same type as the electric component to be searched, and the environmental information is registered. The environmental information simulation system according to claim 4, wherein the calculation is performed by a weighted average process of the environmental information of the electric parts.

 7. The database manages and holds the prescribed chemical substance content per unit weight of the material of the mechanical component and the prescribed chemical substance content per unit area of plating and coating for the mechanical component. ,

 The method according to claim 4, wherein, for the mechanical component to be searched, the content of a chemical substance in the mechanical component to be searched is calculated from the weight of the material and the plating and / or painting area. Environmental information simulation system.

 8. A means for outputting a report of the evaluation value of the environmental information calculated by the environmental information evaluation means is provided separately from the environmental information evaluation means. The environment information simulation system according to claim 4, wherein the information is registered in the storage means as the information of the environmental information.

 9. Environmental information of components registered in the database is managed in the database by a manufacturer item, which is item information of a component manufacturer that provides the component, and a product name code of the product supplier and the component manufacturer. The environmental information simulation system according to claim 4, wherein the manufacturer's items are associated with each other by item-related information.

10 0. In the database, the specified chemical substances correspond to the management policy. In addition to managing the information by dividing it into a plurality of ranks, and providing rank-separated reports that correspond to the environmental information management policies for each customer who delivers products,

 Means for outputting a report to the customer with respect to the calculated evaluation value of the environmental information, the means for converting the evaluation value into a rank classification suitable for the management policy of the customer, and outputting the result. An environmental information simulation system according to item 4.

 1 1. Equipped with a configuration data expansion unit that automatically expands configuration data consisting of component information that constitutes a product, and hierarchically transfers component information from parent component items to child and grandchild-related component items. The environmental information simulation system according to claim 4, wherein the system is deployed.

 1 2. Enter the configuration data of the product, and if the configuration data is hierarchical configuration data, expand to the lowest level parts and store it in the storage means as expanded product configuration data Equipped with configuration data expansion means,

 5. The environment clearing simulation according to claim 4, wherein the environment information evaluation unit calculates an evaluation value of environment information of a part from the developed product configuration data stored in the storage unit. 6. Chillon system.

 1 3. In the search means, according to the number of search items,

 An interface based on input from a terminal,

 An interface for inputting a file in which search items are recorded, performing a search, and displaying the search results on a terminal,

 5. The environment information simulator according to claim 4, wherein one of the following is selected: an interface for performing a search in the batch mode and an interface for storing search results in a file. Chillon system.

 1 4. In the environmental information simulation system according to claim 4, it is possible to freely connect to a technical information database providing technical information data,

 An environmental information simulation system, wherein environmental information on a product to be developed is output from the item information of the technical information database and the environmental information of the parts.

 1 5. As the output of the evaluation value of the environmental information,

A harmful substance content list, which is a list of harmful substance content states, A list of product name codes that outputs environmental information including the status of harmful substances and the amount of CO2 generated for each product name code of parts,

 The environmental information simulation system according to claim 4, wherein at least one of the following is output.

1 6. As the report output,

 A report indicating the state of harmful substance content,

 L C A (Life Cycle Assessment) report,

 9. The environment information simulation system according to claim 8, comprising:

 1 7. The environment information simulation system according to claim 4, wherein the server device includes the database, the search unit, the environment information evaluation unit, and the environment information evaluation result output unit. An environment information simulation system comprising a server device group, wherein a user can freely access the environment information simulation system from a browser of a terminal connected to the server device via the Internet or an intranet. Chillon system.

 18. The environment information simulation system according to claim 17, wherein a report including a graph is output by a print designation from a browser of the terminal.

 1 9. Equipped with a database to register environmental information of parts in advance,

 The database is searched for parts constituting a product, and as a result of the search, when environmental information of the parts to be searched is registered in the database, the environmental information is used. If the environmental information of the component is not registered in the database, the search is performed by averaging the environmental information of components of the same type or the same material as the component to be searched registered in the database. An environmental information simulation method comprising calculating an evaluation value of environmental information of a target component.

 20. The method according to claim 19, wherein, based on the environment information of the component registered in the database, environmental information of the component to be searched is calculated from a weight of the component to be searched. Environmental information simulation method.

2 1. The environmental information of the electrical component to be searched is stored in the database on the basis of the item information. The environmental information simulation method according to claim 19, characterized in that the environmental information is calculated by averaging environmental information of electrical components whose environmental information is registered in the base.

 2 2. The database manages and maintains the prescribed chemical substance content per unit weight of the material of the mechanical component and the prescribed chemical substance content per unit area of paint and coating for the mechanical component. And

 The method according to claim 19, wherein the content of the chemical substance in the mechanical component to be searched is calculated from the weight of the material and the plating and / or painting area of the mechanical component to be searched. Environmental information simulation method.

 2 3. The process of calculating the evaluation value of the environmental information and the process of outputting the report of the calculated evaluation value of the environmental information are provided separately.

 20. The environmental information simulation method according to claim 19, wherein the determined result of the evaluation execution of the environmental information is registered in a storage means as report output information.

 2 4. The environmental information of the components registered in the database is managed in the database by the manufacturer, which is the item information of the component manufacturer that provides the component, and the information of the product supplier is managed. 20. The environmental information simulation method according to claim 19, wherein an item name code and a maker item of the part maker are associated with each other by item-related information.

 2 5. In the database, predetermined chemical substances are classified and managed in multiple ranks according to the management policy, and ranking information corresponding to the customer's environmental information management policy is provided.

 10. A method for outputting a report to a customer with respect to the calculated evaluation value of the environmental information, wherein the report is converted into a rank classification suitable for the management policy of the customer and output. Environmental information simulation method described in 1.

 2 6. A request that automatically expands configuration data consisting of information on parts that make up a product, and expands hierarchically from parent items to children and grandchild items. Environmental information simulation method described in Item 19.

2 7. Enter the configuration data of the product, and if the configuration data is a configuration data of a hierarchical configuration, expand to the lowest level parts, and from the expanded configuration data, 10. The environmental information stain according to claim 19, wherein the evaluation value is calculated. Uration method.

 2 8. In the environmental information simulation method according to claim 19, the environmental information on the product to be developed is output from the part information of the database providing the technical information data and the environmental information of the part. A method for simulating environmental information.

 2 9. As the output of the evaluation value of the environmental information, a hazardous substance content list, which is a list of the hazardous substance content status, and environmental information including the hazardous substance content status and CO2 emissions for each part name code are output. 10. The method for simulating environmental information according to claim 19, wherein a total list of product name codes to be output is output.

 30. The environmental information simulation system according to claim 23, wherein the report output includes a report indicating a state of containing harmful substances and an LCA (life cycle assessment) report.

 3 1. A storage medium that stores a program for performing environmental evaluation of parts using a database in which environmental information of parts is registered in advance.

 (a) a process of searching whether the environment information of the component is registered in the database,

 (b) when environmental information of the part is registered in the database, a process of integrating using the environmental information;

 (c) If the environmental information of the part is not registered in the database, the environmental information of the part is obtained by averaging the environmental information of the part of the same type as the part registered in the database. A process of calculating an evaluation value and integrating the evaluation value;

(d) outputting the evaluation result of the calculated environmental information,

 A recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to execute each of the above-described processes (a) to (d) is recorded.

 3 2. In the recording medium according to claim 31,

 A recording medium storing a program for causing the computer to execute a process of calculating environment information of the search target component from the weight of the search target component based on the environment information of the component registered in the database. .

3 3. In the recording medium according to claim 31, The component item is registered in the database, the electric component of the same type as the electric component to be searched, and the environmental information of the electric component for which the environmental clearing report is registered is processed by the average processing to obtain the electric component to be searched. A recording medium on which a program for causing the computer to execute processing for calculating environmental information of the computer is recorded.

 3 4. In the recording medium according to claim 31,

 The database manages and holds, for the mechanical parts, a predetermined chemical substance content per unit weight of the material of the mechanical parts, and a predetermined chemical substance content per unit area of plating and coating,

 A process for calculating the chemical substance content of the mechanical component to be searched for from the weight of the material, the plating, the Z, or the painted area for the mechanical component to be searched, for causing the computer to execute the process. A recording medium on which a program is recorded.

 3 5. In the recording medium according to claim 31,

 The environment information evaluation value calculation process and the calculated environment information evaluation value report output are separately provided,

 A recording medium for recording a program for causing the computer to execute processing, in which a determination result of evaluation execution of environmental information is registered in a storage unit as report output information.

 3 6. In the recording medium according to claim 31,

 Environmental information of components registered in the database is managed in the database by a manufacturer item which is item information of a component manufacturer that provides the component, and includes a product name code of a product supplier and , The parts manufacturer and the item of the parts manufacturer are associated with each other by the item related information,

 A recording medium on which is recorded a program for causing the computer to execute a process for searching for one item of a manufacturer of the component manufacturer from a product name code of a product supplier.

 3 7. In the recording medium according to claim 31,

 In the database, predetermined chemical substances are classified and managed in a plurality of ranks according to a management policy, and ranking information corresponding to a management policy of a customer's environmental information is provided.

To output a report to the customer for the calculated environmental information evaluation value And a recording medium for recording a program for causing the computer to execute the process, which converts the data into a rank classification suitable for the management policy of the customer and outputs the result.

 3 8. In the recording medium according to claim 31,

 When automatically expanding configuration data consisting of part information that constitutes a product, a program for causing the computer to execute processing for hierarchically expanding from parent items to child and grandchild items is recorded. Recording medium.

 3 9. In the recording medium according to claim 31,

 When the configuration data of the product is input, if the configuration data is hierarchical configuration data, it is expanded to the lowest level parts, and the evaluation value of the environmental information is calculated from the expanded configuration data. A recording medium on which a program for causing the computer to execute a process to be calculated is recorded.

 40. The recording medium according to claim 31,

 As the evaluation value output of the environmental information, a harmful substance content list, which is a list of harmful substance content states, and environmental information including the harmful substance content state and the amount of C02 generated for each part name code are output. A recording medium on which a program for outputting a product name code total list and causing the computer to execute a process is recorded.

 4 1. The recording medium according to claim 31,

 A recording medium for recording a program for causing the computer to execute a process for outputting a report indicating a state of harmful substance content and an LCA (life cycle assessment) report as a report output.

 4 2. In an environmental business that evaluates and presents environmental information on products, at the product development stage, based on environmental information registered in advance in the database for the components that make up the product, or equivalently to the components By performing predetermined arithmetic processing on the environmental information registered in the database in advance for the parts, a simulation of the evaluation value of the environmental information of the parts constituting the product is executed, and the simulation is performed. A method of an environmental assessment business model, comprising: outputting a predetermined report created based on the results, and z or a simulation result.

4 3. In an environmental business that evaluates and presents product environmental information, For customer-supplied products, environmental information registered in advance in the database is based on environmental information registered in advance in the database for the components that make up the product, or in advance regarding the components and equivalent parts. Simulates the evaluation value of the environmental information of the components constituting the product by performing a predetermined arithmetic processing on the product, and creates a predetermined report of the environmental information on the product based on the simulation result. And presenting the same to the customer.

 4 4. 'A program for evaluating the environment of parts using a database in which environmental information of parts is registered in advance.

 (a) a step of searching whether or not environmental information of the part is registered in the database;

 (b) when environmental information of the component is registered in the database, a step of integrating using the environmental information;

 (c) If the environmental information of the part is not registered in the database, the environmental information of the part is obtained by averaging the environmental information of the part of the same type as the part registered in the database. Calculating an evaluation value and integrating the evaluation value;

 (d) outputting the evaluation result of the calculated environmental information.

 4 5. In the program according to claim 44,

 A step of causing the computer to execute a process of calculating the environment information of the component to be searched from the weight of the component to be searched based on the environment information of the component registered in the database. And the program.

 4 6. In the program according to claim 44,

 The component items are registered in the database, and the electrical information of the electrical component of the same type as the electrical component to be searched is searched for by the average processing of the environmental information of the electrical component for which the environmental information is registered. A program including a step of calculating environmental information of a part.

4 7. In the program according to claim 44, The database manages and holds a predetermined chemical substance content per unit weight of a material of the mechanical component, and a predetermined chemical substance content per unit area of plating and coating for the mechanical component,

 A program comprising a step of calculating the content of a chemical substance in the mechanical component to be searched from the weight of the material, the plating, the Z or the painted area of the mechanical component to be searched.

 4 8. In the program according to claim 44,

 The step of calculating the evaluation value of the environmental information and the step of outputting a report of the evaluation value of the calculated environmental information are performed separately.

 Further, the program has a step of registering the determined result of the evaluation execution of environmental information in the storage means as report output information.

 4 9. In the program according to claim 44,

 Environmental information of the parts registered in the database is managed in the database by a maker item which is item information of a part maker providing the part, and a product name code of a product supplier and the part name are managed. Each car is linked to each other by item-related information.

 A program having a step of searching for a maker item of the above-mentioned component manufacturer from a product name code of a product supplier.

 50. In the program according to claim 44,

 The database includes a step of classifying and managing a predetermined chemical substance into a plurality of ranks in accordance with a management policy, and performing a rank division in accordance with a management policy of a customer's environmental information,

 A program for outputting a report to a customer with respect to the calculated evaluation value of environmental information, the method comprising a step of converting the evaluation value into a rank classification suitable for the management policy of the customer and outputting the result.

 5 1. In the program according to claim 44,

It is characterized in that it has a step of hierarchically expanding from parent items to child and grandchild items in automatically expanding configuration data consisting of parts information that constitutes products. program. .

5 2. In the program according to claim 44,

 When the configuration data of the product is input, and the configuration data is a configuration data of a hierarchical configuration, the configuration data is expanded to the lowest level parts, and environmental information is evaluated from the expanded configuration data. A program having a step of calculating a value.

 5 3. In the program according to claim 44,

 As the evaluation value output of the environmental information, a harmful substance content list, which is a list of harmful substance content states, and environmental information including the harmful substance content state and the amount of C〇2 generated for each part name code are output. A program having a step of outputting a product name code total list.

 5 4. In the program according to claim 44,

 A program comprising a step of outputting a report indicating the state of the content of harmful substances and an LCA (life vital assessment) report as report output.

 5 5. An environmental information simulation system that calculates the environmental information evaluation values for the components that make up the product using the environmental information of the components registered in the database, and outputs the evaluation results of the calculated environmental information. A component information system that holds price information on the component, the environment information simulation system has a configuration linked to the component information system, and refers to the component environment information and the price information. A design simulation system for selecting the most suitable parts for the product.

 5 6. The design simulation system according to claim 55, wherein the database further holds environmental action information indicating a state of consideration for the environment from a component manufacturer.

5 7. In claim 55, the environment simulation system uses the environment information registered in the database when the environment information of the target component is registered in the database. If the environment information of the target part is not registered in the database, the environment information of the part of the same type or the same material as the target part registered in the database is processed to calculate the target part. Environmental information evaluation means for calculating the evaluation value of the environmental information of parts, calculated for the product A design simulation system comprising: an environment information evaluation result output means for outputting the evaluation result of the environment information.